>I panic and put too much effort into trying to figure out what they want to see
My approach for take home challenges is this. Often I complete them and never even get any feedback from the firm beyond a form rejection letter. If that is going to be the case anyway I might as well make something I'm proud to have in my portfolio, even if it doesn't line up with exactly what they are asking for. That transforms the work from something that I'm doing for them to something I'm doing for me. I know that's hard when you are unemployed and have bills to pay, but if at the end of the day you have some work that at least meets with your expectations you can retain that bit of your pride.
This made me think, what if we post take home assignments on github. Along with company name and status - accepted/rejected. This is a testimony of your work as well as of hiring company - if code is good and you are still rejected, that is the red flag to developers.
My approach for take home challenges is this. Often I complete them and never even get any feedback from the firm beyond a form rejection letter. If that is going to be the case anyway I might as well make something I'm proud to have in my portfolio, even if it doesn't line up with exactly what they are asking for. That transforms the work from something that I'm doing for them to something I'm doing for me. I know that's hard when you are unemployed and have bills to pay, but if at the end of the day you have some work that at least meets with your expectations you can retain that bit of your pride.